In Alabama, the Huntsville Symphony Guild’s annual “Crescen-Dough” silent and live auction this year includes violins painted by Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Miguel Prieto, the orchestra’s music director. The violins will be auctioned on April 17 at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, with proceeds benefiting the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and its music education programs. Three additional violins are painted by the visual artist Nall (Fred Nall Hollis), as well as by local artists Leslie Lockhart and Alan Davis. Yo-Yo Ma told the orchestra that no one had asked him to do something like this before; the volunteer guild reports that Ma’s painted violin has generated a great deal of excitement in the community. More information on the auction is available at crescendoughauction.org.
Posted March 17, 2009
